The Millennium Falcon is "the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy." So when Han Solo wins it in a game of sabacc, he and Chewbacca become kings of the smugglers—uncatchable and unstoppable. But with the Empire clamping down, Han knows his luck can't last. Still, when an old girlfriend who is now the leader of an insurgent Rebel group offers him a shot at an incredible fortune, Han can't resist. The plan seems a sure thing. The resistance will be light and the take enormous. Han and his friends will divide it equally with the Rebels. Too bad for Han that the planet of Ylesia is far from a pushover, that the Rebels have an agenda of their own, and that smuggler friends can often turn into enemies…quicker than lightspeed.

After returning to Nar Shaddaa, Solo is reunited with his old flame Bria Tharen, now an agent of the Rebel Alliance. He was reluctant to aid his former love, who was planning an all-out attack against the slaving colonies on Ylesia. Promised appropriate compensation, Solo, Calrissian, and Chewbacca take on the mission. In the aftermath of the battle, Tharen's troopers turned their blasters on Calrissian and the rest of Solo's friends, confiscating all valuables in the name of the Rebel Alliance. Angered, Han Solo threatens to kill Tharen if he ever saw her again. Defaced and branded a traitor back on Nar Shaddaa, Lando Calrissian refused to believe Solo was not involved in the swindle, and punched his former friend in the jaw.

Desperate for money, Solo and Chewbacca took a spice smuggling run from Jabba (who had inherited his aunt's criminal empire) through the Kessel Run. However, the duo were met mid-Run by an Imperial patrol, and were forced to abandon their cargo in deep space while the Falcon was searched and escorted to a nearby world. When they came back to look for the cargo, however, the two discovered it has disappeared. The smuggler tried to explain what happened, but Jabba — in a drug-induced haze — turned his back on Solo and demanded compensation for the lost spice.

Meanwhile, Bria Tharen led a rebel raid on Toprawa in which rebel spies transmitted the plans for the Death Star I to Leia Organa aboard the Tantive IV. Tharen and her squadron were all killed in the raid, but the plans were successfully transmitted. This was the "first victory" of the Rebels.

On Tatooine, Han Solo tried unsuccessfully to arrange a personal meeting with Jabba, and became increasingly harassed by bounty hunters working for the crime lord. While he searched for a card game in which he might be able to win the money needed to pay off Jabba, he briefly encountered Dash Rendar. Solo is then interrupted by news of his former lover's death, delivered by Boba Fett, who also informed Solo that Greedo was looking for him, and may try to kill him. The following day he recorded a message to Tharen's father passing on the news.